~ A collection of case studies, tools, knowledge, experiences, and research outputs by Jose Falck-Zepeda, colleagues at IFPRI and the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), and developing/developed country partners; on the socio-economic assessments of genetically modified organisms and other technologies. Photograph is of Bt/RR maize in Isabela province, Northern Luzon, Philippines; a country with over 500,000 hectares of Bt/RR maize.

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Is publication in a peer reviewed media enough to guarantee quality? Absolutely not!!!….

Publication in peer reviewed media is a necessary step as a standard of quality for science, but it is not sufficient. Everybody reading any publication must also check those standards of research excellence such as full description of hypotheses, availability of study protocol (e.g. description of sampling methods, full description of data and assumptions used), adherence to accepted statistical standards, and even availability on demand of data/models/econometric routines or programs for replicability purposes. These are in my mind the golden standards for peer reviewed publications. It all boils down to transparency.

There have been articles published in high caliber journals which have been later withdrawn due to improper research methods or even in some cases researcher impropriety. Furthermore, there is another development which requires even more vigilant efforts to examine evidence presented to an audience and that is the resurgence of publishers and journals of questionable quality and/or standards for publication. The blogScholarly Open Access contains a list of publishers and individual journal which are of a questionable status and quality. You can peruse their lists and make your own opinion about these publications.

About the main author

My name is Jose Falck-Zepeda. I am a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Any opinions herein are those of the author(s) posting in this blog and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of IFPRI, its partners, or collaborators. My email if you need to contact me is j.falck-zepeda@cgiar.org.

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September 26, 2017 IFPRI Blog Katarlah Taylor WFP report launch: As world food assistance grows, how to deliver it effectively? The World Food Programme's aid spending has more than doubled since 2009. Participants at an IFPRI event discuss what that means for the future of food assistance.

September 21, 2017 IFPRI Blog Katrina Kosec Jordan Kyle IFPRI Research Day: What to do when markets and governments fail poor people At the IFPRI staff retreat, Shanta Devarajan of the World Bank explains how well-intentioned fixes for market failures too often result in government failures.